Collections

Max von Oppenheim’s passion for collecting was awakened in his parents’ home. His travels in the Middle East initially motivated him to build a collection of contemporary arts and crafts, focused on objects of everyday life. The diversification of his research ambitions went hand in hand with the expansion of his collecting interests. This not only reflects his scientific curiosity, but also underscores his goal of documenting, through fascinating and appealing objects, as many different geographical and cultural regions of the Middle East as possible.

On the Provenance of the Collections

On 16 May 2023 Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (Berlin State Museums) had published a policy statement on how to deal with archaeological collections and their provenance. The Board of Trustees of the Max Freiherr von Oppenheim Foundation has been taken this opportunity to address the circumstances surrounding the acquisition of the monuments from Tell Halaf and of the realia collection.[1]

Preliminary remark: After an interview at the end of 2005 for the TV production „Fascination Orient“ (first broadcast on September 30, 2009), the first indications of illegal exportation of excavation finds emerged. Subsequently, research was conducted in the Political Archive of the Federal Foreign Office (Berlin) and in the archive of the Max Freiherr von Oppenheim Foundation (now deposited as a deposit in the Rheinisch-Westfälisches Wirtschaftsarchiv, Cologne).

Extensive correspondence reveals that between 1912 and 1914, Max von Oppenheim transported sculptures and various artifacts, including ceramics and terracotta, from his excavations at Tell Halaf and surveys in the region (1911–1913) to Germany. Despite his awareness of the Ottoman Antiquities Act of 1884 and its revised version in 1906, he did so without obtaining permission from the Ottoman antiquities administration. He was supported by the German consulates general in Aleppo and Beirut, as well as the German embassy in Constantinople. Engineers from the Baghdad railway were also involved in the removal of the antiquities. When the crates with the artefacts arrived in Berlin, the Königliche Museen (Royal Museums) provided Oppenheim’s authorised employee, Konrad Lehmann, with storage space. The larger stone sculptures remained at Tell Halaf and, at the end of the first excavation campaign, in 1913, were stored in the local expedition house. Their transport was not possible without the Baghdad railway, which was at the time still under construction.[2]

What were Oppenheim’s motives for taking some of his archaeological finds out of the country illegally? He was primarily interested in donating his finds to the Königliche Museen (Royal Museums),[3] which is why, at an early stage, he negotiated a division of the finds (partage) with the Ottoman antiquities administration. He referred in vain to the so-called secret agreement from 1899, a short note verbale [4], here in translation: „The Foreign Office has the honour of informing the Embassy of His Majesty the Emperor of Germany that an Iradé (decree) of His Imperial Majesty the Sultan authorises the Berlin Museum to keep half of the antiquities which are discovered through approved research projects and to concede the other half to the Imperial Government.“ However, the Sultan’s decree contradicted the applicable antiquities act and therefore met with resistance from Hamdi Bey, the director general of the Imperial Ottoman Museum, and his successor Halil Bey. Oppenheim did not carry out the excavation on behalf of, or with funds from, the Berlin Museums. From the point of view of the Ottoman Directorate of Antiquities, it was therefore considered a private mission to which the agreement did not apply. In 1913, Oppenheim saw another opportunity to negotiate the division of finds: as, due to foreign policy crises, the Antiquities Department lacked the financial means to have the Tell Halaf finds transported to Constantinople, he offered to cover the costs. In return, he demanded that at least a third of the antiquities be conceded to Berlin. After the official negotiations failed, he intensified his efforts to take the artefacts out of the country. In this context, a frequently mentioned justification was the protection of the monuments on site: after Oppenheim’s departure in 1899, local residents had already broken up some relief slabs or turned them into building blocks (so-called spolia). [5] In a letter to Wilhelm von Bode, which was written 13 years later, Oppenheim still doubted that the Turkish government would be able to adequately protect the monuments at Tell Halaf; according to Oppenheim, given the development plans for the area, it would be likely that the stones be reused for the construction of irrigation systems and housing. In view of the turmoil of war in south-east Anatolia, he also pointed out this danger in a letter to Halil Bey, dated 20 November 1912. [6]

According to documents from the Political Archive of the Foreign Office, 43 crates of antiquities were initially sent to Berlin in 1912, followed a year later by at least 74 crates and boxes. [7] Oppenheim received logistical support not only from the German embassies[8] or from other compatriots in the area, but also from local confidants. Where necessary, he paid a baksheesh and agreed on key words (e.g. wine) as soon as a consignment had safely left the country [9]. Organisationally necessary repackaging in Aleppo and the respective amount of varying signatures made it difficult for Oppenheim to compare the contents of the boxes with his many lists when the crates finally arrived in Berlin [10]. To this day, this also means that many questions concerning the biography of an object can no longer be answered. To make matters worse, in mid-1913 the return shipments of personal equipment also commenced, making it almost impossible to clearly distinguish between moving crates and crates containing archaeological finds. After the start of the war in 1914, a cargo ship from the German Levant Line that carried one of the last shipments was seized by the British navy off the coast of Cyprus; on board were 31 crates with artefacts, including 14 small stone slabs, so-called orthostats, which, in 1920, were offered to the British Museum as war booty.[11] On the recommendation of the curator, E. A. Wallis Budge, the British Museum purchased the lot.

What was the interest of the Berlin Royal Museums in the finds from Tell Halaf? The sculptures from Tell Halaf were characterised by their monumentality and rich  depictions. In this respect, for the Vorderasiatisches Museum (Museum of the Ancient Near East), they represented a welcome addition to the monuments from Zincirli, which, from 1888 onwards, had been acquired with the help of the Deutsches Orient-Comité (German Orient Committee). Oppenheim’s intention to donate the artefacts is likely to have prompted the museums to store these illegally shipped antiquities on their premises in Berlin,[12] which is why crates were also addressed directly to the Kaiser Friedrich Museum (now Bode-Museum). However, the museums went one step further: on inventory lists dated 6 July 1913, Friedrich Delitzsch, director of the Museum of the Ancient Near East , and his curator Otto Weber categorised a selection of objects as „valuable“ and „particularly valuable“ for future exhibition and presentation.[13] 

What happened to the large-scale works that remained at Tell Halaf? After the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire and with the new border between Syria and Turkey, the ancient site of Tell Halaf became part of the French Mandate of Syria. The acquisition process for these monuments was therefore different: in 1927, Oppenheim negotiated with the Service des Antiquités de Syrie et Liban in Beirut (founded in 1920) regarding the long-hoped for division of finds. This and a second partage agreement from 1929 took place under French administration. In return, Oppenheim established the first museum of antiquities in Aleppo at his own expense and gave the Louvre two small relief slabs for their generous support.

How to assess the legal aspects of the circumstances of the acquisition? There was no official authorisation for the 1912 to 1914 transports from the Ottoman Empire. According to a legal assessment, however, these appropriation contexts are to be considered lapsed under current law. Although the partage agreements that were negotiated with the French Mandate administration in 1927 and 1929 are based on a valid legal framework, the negotiations took place under the conditions of foreign rule and may therefore be subject to criticism. It was not until 1946 that the Syrian Arab Republic was founded; the Ottoman Antiquities Law was used as a model when drafting a new antiquities law. Hence, the transport of archaeological finds was prohibited, although the wording did allow for exceptions: for example, until the end of the 1990s, in the case of rescue excavations, foreign expeditions could still be awarded shares of the finds.

On the context of the acquisition of the Oppenheim collection of artefacts of everyday culture and artworks: Max von Oppenheim not only collected antiquities. His library and his collection of Islamic artefacts, which included furniture, textiles, metalware, astronomical instruments, glass vessels, musical instruments, porcelain and manuscripts, were known beyond the borders of Berlin. During his legal clerkship in Wiesbaden, Oppenheim had already furnished a so-called Oriental Room with objects that he had brought back from his first trip to Asia Minor in 1883. He shared this passion for Arab interiors with many of his contemporaries in the German educated middle classes. Following his appointment to the German Consulate General in Cairo, he collected more specific items, as the numerous photographs of his house at Bab el-Louk show. When Oppenheim moved to Berlin in 1910, he retained his style of furnishing, and his home on Kurfürstendamm once again featured corresponding suites of rooms.

Initial investigations into the circumstances surrounding the acquisition of the ethnographic collection have shown that there are limits to this research: there is no detailed information on the provenance of most of the objects. It is therefore difficult, or indeed impossible, to verify the context of acquisition according to current provenance research criteria.  What is known so far is that Oppenheim himself bought objects at bazaars or gave intermediaries specific search orders. He owed his privileged access to the Arab elites to his language skills and his familiarity with the local customs. At the beginning of the 20th century, many of these families replaced their traditional Arab interiors with modern furnishings. Hence, Oppenheim was able to acquire entire interiors that were no longer valued locally, but were not yet of interest to museums.[14] Based on the preserved inventories, it can be said that the collection comprised around 8,000 objects before the Second World War. The majority of these were destroyed during the bombing of the Tell Halaf Museum and of the Foundation’s residence on Savignyplatz in Berlin.

Around 1,500 objects were saved and brought to Cologne by the Oppenheim Foundation’s representative at that time. Since the early 1990s, the ethnographic collection has been kept at the Rautenstrauch-Joest-Museum (RJM).[15] Smaller collections owned by the Max Freiherr von Oppenheim Foundation can be found in the following institutes and libraries:

• University of Cologne, Institute for Languages and Cultures of the Islamic World: Foundation library with approx. 3,500 volumes[16] as well as archival documents, plans and maps;
• University of Cologne, Institute of Archaeology: Antiquities and Egyptica [17];
• Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin (Berlin State Library) – Preußischer Kulturbesitz (Prussian Cultural Heritage): 362 objects from the manuscript collection (codices, single sheets and fragments) and 47 Islamic volumes;
• Stiftung Rheinisch-Westfälisches Wirtschaftsarchiv, Cologne: archival documents, plans and maps

In the 1960s and early 1970s, the Oppenheim Foundation was able to expand the manuscript collection considerably through new acquisitions: for example, the Islamic scholar Abdoldjavad Falaturi (1926–1996) sold a large number of manuscripts, which he himself had acquired in Iranian bookshops and brought to Germany, partly to the Foundation and partly to the Oriental Seminar at the University of Cologne. This process can be reconstructed on the basis of the lists that Falaturi had compiled for accounting purposes and of the inventory books: according to these, the last purchase by the Foundation dates from 1973, and by the Seminar from early 1975. Both acquisitions therefore took place before Germany (2007) and also Iran (May 1975) ratified the UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property.

On the Oppenheim Foundation’s current treatment of its heritage: Until the outbreak of the civil war in Syria in 2011, the Foundation and its Board of Trustees worked closely with the Direction Générale des Antiquités et des Musées Damas (DGAM) in the areas of field research, restoration and museum. Two projects in collaboration with the National Museum of Aleppo deserve special mention at this point:

In agreement with the Max Freiherr von Oppenheim Foundation, a large number of stone fragments were returned to the National Museum in 2004 and 2007. Having arrived in Berlin in 1927 as part of the division of finds, it was only during the restoration work in Berlin that these fragments could be unequivocally assigned to the artworks that remained in Aleppo. While the Syrian-German excavations at Tell Halaf were taking place, the conservator working on the project was able to restore the sculptures in Aleppo during the ongoing campaign.[18] The following year, the Federal Foreign Office, Department of Cultural Preservation, funded the redesign of the Tell Halaf exhibition on the initiative of both the Vorderasiatisches Museum (Museum of the Ancient Near East) and the Foundation.

Representatives of the DGAM and of the Syrian Embassy in Berlin frequently visited the restoration workshop in Berlin-Friedrichshagen, where the Tell Halaf sculptures and orthostates were restored from 2001–2010. At the opening of the exhibition entitled The Tell Halaf Adventure, on 27 January 2011, the then-Syrian Minister of Culture, Riad Ismat, paid tribute to „the long-standing Syrian-German relations in the field of archeology and excavations.“[19]

Beyond the completion of the restoration project and the cessation of excavations, the Max Freiherr von Oppenheim Foundation remains committed to maintaining, researching, and presenting its collections.

Another field of activity is the sharing of knowledge about cultural-historical and political developments in the region. The Foundation sees itself in the tradition of its founder to promote mutual understanding through a series of events. Since 2016, three colloquia with international participation have been organised, the contributions of which have been, and will continue to be, published by the Max Freiherr von Oppenheim Foundation.[20]

The Board of Trustees of the Oppenheim Foundation intends to continue the long-standing constructive collaboration with the DGAM as soon as the political situation permits. Supporting Syrian initiatives to maintain and preserve their cultural heritage plays an equally important role as do issues of provenance.

Archival documents:

Politisches Archiv des Auswärtigen Amtes, Berlin (PA AA) 

Political Archive of the Federal Foreign Office, Berlin (PA AA)

• PA AA Konsulat Aleppo 6/1 / PA AA Consulate Aleppo 6/1
• PA AA Konsulat Beirut / PA AA Consulate Beirut
• PA AA, RAV Konstantinopel, Bd. 422 / PA AA, RAV Constantinople, vol. 422

Zentralarchiv der Staatlichen Museen, Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Berlin

Central Archive of the State Museums, Prussian Cultural Heritage, Berlin

• SMB-ZA, I/VAM 052: general correspondence, German Oriental Society, excavations N-Z, 1895–1926
• SMB Zentralarchiv I/VAM 266: correspondence between Max Freiherr von Oppenheim and the Imperial and Royal Government in Berlin on the excavations at Tell Halaf 1911–1912
• SMB-ZA, I/VAM 267: correspondence between Max Freiherr von Oppenheim and the archaeologist Theodor Wiegand on excavations at Tell Halaf 1909–1912

For primary sources, see also the links on the website of the Max Freiherr von Oppenheim Foundation: https://max-von-oppenheim.foundation/stiftung/links-zu-archiven/

Literature:

Al-Maqdissi 2008

Al-Maqdissi, M.: “Pionniers et protagonistes de l’archéologie syrienne 1860–1960. D’Ernest à Sélim Abdulhak”. Edited by Michel Al-Maqdissi, Documents d’Archéologie Syrienne XIV, Damas.

Brockschmidt 2011

Brockschmidt, R.: “Diplomatische Götter. Die Wiege der Menschheit: Interview mit dem syrischen Kulturminister Riad Ismat zur Tell Halaf-Schau auf der Museumsinsel”. In: Tagesspiegel, 2 February 2011, issue 153734, 23.

Cholidis 2010a

Cholidis, N.: “Der Westpalast”. In: N. Cholidis and L. Martin (eds.): Tell Halaf. Im Krieg zerstörte Denkmäler und ihre Restaurierung. Berlin, New York, 69–195, esp. 70–81.

Cholidis 2010b

Cholidis, N.: “Appendix I: Standortübersicht der kleinen Orthostaten”. In: N. Cholidis and L. Martin (eds.): Tell Halaf. Im Krieg zerstörte Denkmäler und ihre Restaurierung. Berlin, New York, 364–375.

Cholidis and Martin 2010

Cholidis, N. and Martin, L.: “Einführung und Überblick”. In: N. Cholidis and L. Martin (eds.): Tell Halaf. Im Krieg zerstörte Denkmäler und ihre Restaurierung, Tell Halaf V. Berlin and New York, 1–15.

Cholidis und Martin 2013

Cholidis, N. and Martin, L.: “Hoffentlich wird ihm bald eine bessere, würdigere Aufnahmestätte zuteil, … – Das Tell Halaf-Museum als Spielball privater und öffentlicher Interessen.” In: Jörn Grabowski and Petra Winter (eds.): Zwischen Politik und Kunst. Die Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin in der Zeit des Nationalsozialismus. Cologne/Weimar/Vienna, 331–349.

Crüsemann 2000

Crüsemann, N.: “Vom Zweistromland zum Kupfergraben. Vorgeschichte und Entstehungsjahre (1899–1918) der Vorderasiatischen Abteilung der Berliner Museen vor fach- und kulturpolitischen Hintergründen“. Jahrbuch der Berliner Museen. Volume 42, supplement.

Dubiel und Martin 2004

Dubiel, U. and Martin, L.: “Stierskulptur aus Aleppo in Berlin – Bildwerke vom Tell Halaf werden restauriert”. In: Antike Welt 3, 40–43.

Emge 1995

Emge, A.: “Nach ‘Tausend und einer Nacht’. Die Orientalische Sammlung des Barons Max von Oppenheim im Rautenstrauch-Joest-Museum für Völkerkunde”. In: Kölner Museums-Bulletin vol. 1.

Fless 1997

Fless, Friederike: “Die Antiken der Sammlung Max Freiherr von Oppenheim im Archäologischen Institut der Universität zu Köln”. In: Kölner Jahrbuch 30, 21–143.

Kröger 2011

Kröger, M.: “‘Alles dies bitte vertraulich‘ – Max von Oppenheim und Walter Rössler.“ In: N. Cholidis and L. Martin (eds.): Die geretteten Götter aus dem Palast vom Tell Halaf. Regensburg, 163–168.

Neyses 2020

Neyses, J. (ed.): “Verfassungskonzeptionen zwischen Orient und Okzident. Interkultureller Dialog und Rechtsvergleichung”. Schriften der Max Freiherr von Oppenheim-Stiftung 20, Wiesbaden.

Wilhelm 2018

Wilhelm, G. (ed.): “Die Beduinen. Stammesgesellschaften und Nomadismus im Nahen Osten”. Schriften der Max Freiherr von Oppenheim-Stiftung 19, Wiesbaden.

[1] file://///pk.de/home/smb/mmnadcho/Downloads/Positionspapier_archaeolog_Provenienzen_FIN_DE.pdf (accessed on 2 Oct.2023).

[2] Letter from Max von Oppenheim to Kaiser Wilhelm II, 3 April 1914 (SMB-ZA, I/VAM 052, pp. 34–38).

[3] Letter from Max von Oppenheim to Theodor Wiegand, 19 October 1910 (SMB-ZA, I/VAM 267, p. 41).

[4] For context, see: Crüsemann 2000:117-119; a note verbale on secrecy was written less than a week later; published in transcription in Crüsemann 2000:278.

[5] Cholidis 2010a:70–81.

[6] Letter from Max von Oppenheim to the Director General of the Royal Museums in Berlin, Wilhelm Bode, 24 February 1912; here an excerpt: „First of all, the inhabitants of Ras el ʿAin themselves, the Chechens, would undoubtedly smash everything bit by bit after my departure, as they did before in 1899. The best intentions of the government would, I believe, make little difference in this respect, as control would very soon slacken. With the increased development of our region to be expected later, the stones of Tell Halaf would become valuable material for the construction of irrigation systems on the Chabur, for building houses etc., for which the stones excavated by the Chechens have already been used“ (SMB Central Archives I/VAM 266, pp. 30-31); letter from Max von Oppenheim to Halil Bey, 20 November 1912 (SMB-ZA, I/VAM 052, pp. 5–7).

[7] Colli is the international term for packaging units or bales of goods.

[8] For example Kröger 2011:166–168.

[9] Letter from Max von Oppenheim to Heinrich Bergfeld, at the time acting director of the consulate in Aleppo, 30 January 1913 (PA AA, Aleppo 6/1); „wine“ or „books“ are code words for antiquities. For information on the cash payments, see, for example, the carbon copy of a letter from Oppenheim to an engineer of the Baghdad Railway, which was enclosed with the letter of 27 July 1914 to Walter Rössler, Aleppo Consulate (PA AA, Aleppo 6/1).

[10] However, Oppenheim was not reluctant to divide up the contents of larger crates and send their contents in smaller parcels by post in order to avoid customs inspection.

[11] Cholidis 2010b: 367–368.

[12] Cholidis and Martin 2013: 333–334.

[13] II List of stone sculptures from Tell Halaf described as valuable and particularly valuable by Privy Councillor Delitzsch and Prof. Weber, 6.VI.13 (copy in the archive of the Vorderasiatisches Museum).

[14] Most of these objects were not considered ‚antique‘, although the legislation of 1906, which protected also Islamic objects, did not define the term antique. According to current museum practice, this is 200 years. At the beginning of the 20th century, objects from the 18th/19th century could be legally exported; from 1906 onwards, older pieces could no longer be exported.

[15] Emge 1995:28–36.

[16] In 1996 the archaeological literature was made available on permanent loan to the Department of Near Eastern Archaeology at the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz.

[17] See Fless 1997.

[18] For example, Cholidis and Martin 2010, 11-12, figs. I.10-I.12. Regarding the restoration of the bull base for the National Museum of Aleppo, see: Dubiel and Martin 2004, 40–43.

[19] Brockschmidt 2011: 23. The activities and achievements of Max von Oppenheim were also honoured in the special exhibition Pionniers et protagonistes de l’archéologie syrienne 1860-1960, which was curated by the then Director of Excavations, Michele Al-Maqdissi. Al-Maqdissi 2008.

[20] Wilhelm 2018; Neyses 2020. The publication of the 3rd colloquium Herrschaftsformen und Partizipation. 4000 Jahre Kulturgeschichte des Orients is in preparation.